This project will study residential location, household composition, and occupational attainment in 1900 of two cohorts of white, U.S. men aged 5 to 14 and 25 to 34 in 1880. The manuscript census records of over 3000 of these men were linked with their census records in 1900, thus permitting a rare opportunity to observe changes during the life course for a national sample during the 19th Century. The above characteristics of these men in 1900 will be linked to similar characteristics in 1880 and to other individual attributes and household characteristics during the time period. Furthermore, these characteristics will be studied as potential outcomes of residence in different social environments, differentiated by the nature of agricultural and urban-industrial community organization. The study will provide comparative information on social attainment and change in relationship to the contemporary United States. Furthermore, it will provide information on how individuals are affected by major national transitions from primarily agricultural to urban-industrial forms of social organization. The study will be particularly useful for comparisons with populations undergoing similar changes in the contemporary developing countries.